


A New Integrated Development Environment

by FawnoftheWoods



Series: Way leads onto Way [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/M, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Objectification, Past Brainwashing, Psychological Trauma, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:26:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawnoftheWoods/pseuds/FawnoftheWoods
Summary: The Asset isn't certain what to make of this new world of his Handler's.  Or of those in it.  But for his Handler, this asset will learn
Relationships: Ana Jarvis & Tony Stark, Ana Jarvis/Edwin Jarvis, Edwin Jarvis & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Dummy (Iron Man movies), James "Bucky" Barnes & Jarvis (Iron Man movies), James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark
Series: Way leads onto Way [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1467718
Comments: 157
Kudos: 485





	1. Input

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I know its been a little while, but I've got the next story ready and prepped! It overlaps with the first story in this series, so please read that first otherwise this will not make a lick of sense.
> 
> Heads up! Bucky Barnes was tortured for 50 years, this story is told from his perspective. Expect the narrator to misunderstand the other characters! Also, each and every use of personal pronouns (he, his, him) and lack thereof is deliberate!
> 
> Also, remember Tony is 22 years old now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: This chapter takes place DURING the last chapter of “Never Doubt”

This was extreme input error. The asset couldn’t track the input error, but it was an input error. The asset wished to return to the previous handlers.

The asset squashed that thought. Since this was in violation of Primary Objective 1, the asset recorded the time and thought to be reported to the handler later. For the moment, there were tasks to perform. The handler had walked out of line of sight, but the asset needed to track if he was leaving the 50 m radius.

The computer voice was talking to the metal puppy. The metal puppy was designated DUM-E. The asset saw it written on the side when it turned and the handler had called it that. The computer voice was designated JARVIS. The asset continued his evaluation of his environment while he ate the food the Handler had brought back thirteen minutes ago. Calculations showed it to be sufficient for 23.6 hours of activity. The asset hoped the handler performed maintenance soon. The amount of activity from a given amount of calories was starting to decrease due to lack of maintenance. Additionally, the arm was damaged slightly, posing a vulnerability. However, the handler knew best.

The current objectives had not been precise. His Handler had instructed food and sleep. On going objectives were to remain in contact with Handler. But right now the Handler was somewhere else. This required some reconnaissance. It was the asset’s job to complete his objectives.

“JARVIS?” The other asset seemed to be of some seniority. It may have more information.

“I am here James. Please state your request.”

The asset halted a moment to assimilate that. The Handler had informed JARVIS to call the asset, James. The asset was unsure why. Most of the handlers in recent memory had simply used Asset or Soldat. This would require some acclimation. “Where is the Handler?”

“The question does not match any current function. Please clarify the title, ‘Handler’?”

The asset blinked at the screen. Maybe the other assets called the Handler something else. Much like the handler called the asset, James. Learning the handler’s titles would be a priority. “The male adult who left this room most recently.”

“Sir is attending a Christmas Party on the first floor of the Stark Mansion, according to his calendar.”

The asset considered this. The Handler was called ‘Sir’. Should the asset use James now? This Handler did not give as much instruction as the other handlers. The  asset , James didn’t want to make a mistake. Mistakes were punished. Current objectives were slightly vague, but that also allowed some overlap. James was to sleep, however, the Handler was out of sight. James didn’t know whether the Handler was within 50 meters of his assets. It was James's task to complete James's own Objectives.

“Where is ‘Stark Mansion’ from here?” Perhaps this place was within running distance. That would be preferable. Detection probability increased if alternative transportation was required. James should avoid detection. Detection meant exposure. Exposure was punished severely. More severely than other mistakes. James knew to avoid detection.

“This is the lab in the basement of Stark Mansion.”

That made it easier. James could slip upstairs, locate The Handler, Sir, and check the size of the mansion. If the entire first floor was within 50 meters of the basement, James would follow the other objective of sleep. If not, rest would follow locating an observational post and return to the lab to sleep after the Handler had completed this social activity.

DUM-E came over and handed James a water bottle. James slowly reached out for it, the metal puppy waited. When James was certain DUM-E would remain at a distance, taking the water was less of a risk and slotted it in the side holder, James made the way back to the window that had been the original entrance. James glanced at the arm in assessment. The surface plates were breached, but a water proof cloth covered the breach so with the exception of extreme weather, it should be able to withstand the environment for the evening.

* * *

The mansion was familiar. James had scouted the mansion when returning to Sir. Now, James measured the mansion, ignoring, for the moment, the cover of weather. The mansion did not exceed the 50m given by Sir. For extra assurance, James circled the building. Locating Sir had become second nature over the last of his previous assignment. The man stood out for one thing.

James couldn’t decide whether this made protecting Sir any easier. Noticeable targets were more easily sighted, but any movement nearby rarely escaped detection for long. This contradiction would cause a re-evaluation in James's tactics. James carefully noted those already present as Sir greeted the other socialites. Some identities James already knew, either from observation of his handler, or from previous information searches. 

There was Thomas Nash. James's previous handlers had used the man as a cash source. He was speaking with Obadiah Stane. Colleague and adversary of Sir, James should track the man. James also located Maria Stark, from the start of the first mission with Sir. Her name was on Sir’s protected list. James noted her gait indicated mild discomfort from her hips and back. Slow, not agile, difficult protection target. James made note of that should Sir require future protection for the woman.

James watched Sir navigate the room with ease for 76 minutes. While Sir ventured to the doorways multiple times, with the exception of the front entrance, the doors remain closed in Sir’s presence. Furthermore, the front doors only drew his attention when a new arrival entered the room. Otherwise, Sir focused his efforts on the guests. 

Some of the guests did utilize the balconies briefly before Maria Stark requested they return the room to its previously unventilated state. Obadiah Stane was one such person, discussing a collar for a company. James was uncertain what a collar would fit for an entire company, but the body language when Maria Stark requested they return to the room indicated it was a clandestine discussion.

Solidifying the mansion’s architecture in mind, James returned to the cracked window to the basement lab. By this time, water had seeped down into the arm and the electric jolted unpleasantly as James dried himself as best as the worn shirt could accomplish. James hoped Sir asked for a maintenance soon. Those jolts would likely increase in discomfort to the point of causing mild damage to James's thinking process. That could compromise the mission.

But Sir wasn’t like other handlers. Sir didn’t have a set schedule for James to perform before being educated. Sir hadn’t mentioned the technicians. Sir hadn’t taken blood for medical checks. Sir hadn’t given rations to eat. Sir hadn’t punished James for anything. James had never completed a mission without some punishment necessary. Not that James could remember all the missions. The handlers had explained that James functioned best without all the extra information. They had the information recorded if it was needed. James didn’t need it.

James needed to obey. James was the Fist of HYDRA. James fulfilled a purpose and helped. That was enough.

It had to be enough.

What else was there?

What else?

* * *

James didn’t realize the metal hand had started actually pulling out hair until Sir returned. Sir spoke to each asset. Sir even spoke to James. That was good. James reported the aberrant thoughts. The punishment usually involved the chair, but Sir made no indication of the chair. Instead Sir asked questions.

Sir wanted more information from James. “ _ Why _ ” Sir asked. James wished Sir would tell James. James wasn’t supposed to understand this kind of information. That wasn’t part of James's mission. But Sir wished this information so James attempted to give this information. James gave all the information available on  _ Why _

“Current handler uses vague instruction. The asset does not have enough training to avoid mistakes. Previous Handlers were specific on defining objectives and mistakes. Less mistakes were made.”

Sir seemed to accept this information. James hoped this report was adequate. Being adequate was James's job. And Sir was very different from other Handlers. Sir wanted feedback from James. James would have to evaluate objectives for clarity. James added this to the list of on-going objectives. This objective was beyond current training so James would need more time to strategize.

Then Sir claimed the chair would not be used. James did not understand. The chair was essential. The chair was training. How could James be of use if the chair did not train the asset? James was important. James could not make mistakes. Missions where James was needed were too important for mistakes. James knew this. That was why James had agreed to the chair before. That was why James had dedicated everything to being the Fist of HYDRA. James couldn’t remember so the handlers always told James. It was important that James remember that James chose this. That was important.

So mistakes were corrected immediately. James  _ knew  _ this. This statement was vague. Current on-going objectives required James to inform Sir of the disparity.

“How will the Handler ensure the asset does not make mistakes?”

Sir did not answer. Sir claimed the answer would be forthcoming the next day. James considered this briefly. There were few mistakes James could make before the next day. Especially when Sir indicated James could remain in this location. The other, more experienced assets could watch over James. The other assets could guide James, longer experience with Sir meant greater understanding. James knew well that assets who didn’t learn their handlers were discarded.

Sir even indicated that James interact with DUM-E. The asset still resembled a metal puppy with limited communication skills, but Sir was the handler. James would find a method to communicate with this DUM-E. Maybe JARVIS would be able to assist. The voice-only asset seemed able to communicate with the metal puppy effectively.

Sir checked in with both assets as James braced everything for the pliable surface to come in contact with the metal arm. James usually preferred dirt or concrete for resting. Soft enough that it wouldn’t make noise when the arm twitched, as it did when without maintenance, but hard enough to allow complete physical detachment. As James's muscles shifted, the surface would not shift, making it a known variable. The furniture indicated by Sir gave way under weight and James knew rest would not be forthcoming. After Sir left, James would ask JARVIS how long James should remain on the couch before moving to the corner was again allowed.

Until then James watched as Sir gave both other assets positive feedback. DUM-E and Sir communicated through beeps and claps, apparently. JARVIS received the more vocal “Good enough”. James couldn’t stop watching. Sir actually had assets good enough to say so. James had never received such a compliment. Maybe Sir was a better handler of assets? Maybe Sir’s training methods were superior to that of James's previous handlers. Could James earn such praise?

James hoped this was possible. Because James yearned.

Oh how James yearned.

* * *

James only processed 3 hours 28 minutes of rest before Sir reappeared. JARVIS indicated that Sir wanted James to spend the night on the couch. When JARVIS was called away to breakfast by Sir, James returned to the corner of the room for rest. Energy levels were approaching dangerous levels without true maintenance and replenishment. 

When Sir reappeared, with computer pieces in tow, James remained out of his way. Sir would request assistance when it is appropriate. DUM-E had more freedom. The metal puppy assisted Sir constantly. Many times, James noted, DUM-E made mistakes. Sir would often berate the asset for that. There were threats of removal. James made note of those mistakes to prevent repetition.

DUM-E did not seem uncertain about the asset’s continued presence. DUM-E seemed convinced that Sir would not remove DUM-E regardless of the mistakes made. James wondered if James could become useful enough that small mistakes were allowed. DUM-E must be very important for training to not follow such mistakes.

Once Sir had the computer wired and plugged in, the information James had brought to Sir could be entered. The computer was set up on the ground so James saw Sir, simply drag the bag of discs over as Sir folded himself on the ground with a keyboard in one hand. When one disk was entered, Sir gave a cry of exhilaration. James perked up. Maybe James had done good enough.

Sir typed a few commands before leaving the computer to run and turning around. Sir must have thought James was on the couch or elsewhere. When Sir saw James in the corner, Sir jumped in surprise. Unease coiled in James's gut. James shouldn’t startle the handlers. That would be not-good-enough. It would erase his ‘good enough’.

“Jeeze, you startled me, Tasty Freeze.” Sir berated. James tried to back away, maybe Sir preferred James to appear less impressive? Most of James's handlers preferred to see James's capabilities, but Sir didn’t regard James the same way. There was no circling and inspecting of James. Sir did not proudly state of his control over James.

“No, no, don’t be like that!” At Sir’s command, James froze, uncertain what James had done. Sir sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking away. “Look, startling me isn’t a bad thing. I mean, yeah, I’m not saying try to do it, but I don’t get upset about it. I’m pretty scatterbrained. If you need my attention, you’re going to startle me. Its fine, okay?”

James tried to parse that out. Sir placed no credit or demerit on being startled. James should not consider startling Sir in an evaluation of James's behavior. 

Since Sir was still waiting, James nodded to indicate processing of the new information was complete.

“Okay, good. Now that I’ve got the info uploading from the disks, we can give you a little attention.” Sir’s speech had James perking up. Maintenance would mean better rest. Better rest would make James more effective. Sir waved James to a stool by the work bench.

“Sit here and let’s see what we’ve got.” Sir turned away to lay out tools on the bench. James didn’t look at those. Tool of maintenance always caused unpleasant reactions. James started the normal procedure to separate thoughts and reactions from sensation. This was always necessary before maintenance or James would sometimes cause damage to technicians or equipment. The handlers never liked that.

Sir turned towards James and stopped, “Yeah, we need to lose the shirts, Terminator.”

As James removed the upper body coverings, the various names James was receiving ran through James's head. Eventually, James hoped Sir would repeat a few or James would be constantly guessing whether Sir wanted James's attention.

With the shirts out of the way, Sir reached a hesitant hand forward. James was uncertain how to indicate the James would cause Sir no harm. Sir was James's handler. James couldn’t harm Sir. Still, James gripped the side of the stool extra hard with the flesh hand as extra assurance.

“Okay, so discussion time. I need to know if the arm hurts. What can you tell me about the arm?”

James took a deep breath and recited the arm’s specifications, maintenance timings and current status. It was fairly routine, except the specifications. The damage and water had decreased movement considerably and healing from the resultant jolts had decreased his energy efficiency in the last 18 hours.

Sir swore viciously as James completed the report. The vitriol did not appear directed at any specific focus so James waited. Sir eventually huffed a breath. “Okay. Okay. Let’s do this again.” James took a breath to repeat the information but Sir kept talking, “How do I open the damn thing?”

James blinked at him in confusion. “Upper compartment access starts with panel U7b. Deltoid access is from panel D7b. Forearm compartment access is from panel F7f. Hand compartment access is from base thumb panel.”

Sir seemed to stare at James as James recited this. Not that this information was ever told to James, but the repetition of the instruction to technicians was consistent enough that the information survived the wipes. Eventually James wondered if the panel names were confusing to Sir, since the man was still staring at the asset in irritation. 

James meekly unclenched the flesh hand to point to the access panels, naming them as the flesh hand moved up the arm. The upper compartment access was completely beyond reach, but U7b was behind U7f so that would have to do.

This seemed to be the information Sir had needed and went to work on the Deltoid Access. James heard him whispering at the arm as he did so, “Of all the villainous, manipulative...those sonofa bitches made it so no maintenance without their fucking presence, just another goddamn way to make the man return to them, seriously, you motherfucking butchers…”

James tuned the slew of words out as Sir did not appear to require input, and the pain of maintenance would soon require all James's attention. While Maintenance was important, and James preferred the way the arm behaved after compared to prior to the activity, the act itself exceeded pain tolerances frequently. This time the technician wasn’t disposable.

However, this maintenance session did not go like other sessions in memory. For one thing, Sir opened all access panels at once. And then proceeded to open other access panels that were usually left alone unless specific work was required. James hoped Sir knew how to handle the arm or this would be more painful than usual. The less experienced the technician, the more likely the pain would override James's control of his body.

“I don’t see where, aha!” Sir proclaimed and the arm went completely dead. It surprised James so much that uncoordinated movement was actually necessary to remain on the stool. Sir’s hands grasped James by the shoulders gently, “Sorry, sorry, I should have warned you about that. That’s my fault, my bad.”

James blinked at Sir in confusion. Did that mean James was getting replacements? It had happened, but James barely remembered. That certainly did require restraints. The grafting process exceeded the chair in extreme sensation. James felt everything tense at the idea. Sir would know best.

“Okay, so I’ve found the place where you burned out the tracker, nice job avoiding the major circuitry, by the way.” James felt elation enter every bodily system at the praise. ‘ _ Nice Job _ ’ Quickly, hoping for another phrase to remember, James refocused on the handlers voice again, “But some of this maintenance is ridiculously outdated and horrifying. And this short has to be hitting you. I mean this looks like its spliced into your nerves. What kind of butchers did this mimicry of prosthetics. Ugh!”

James blinked at Sir a moment as the man started working in the arm again. The burned out tracker was removed immediately. Sir spent some time tracing wires and leads up and down the arm, which involved the handler practically draping himself over James. James found that comforting in a way that was not understood and thus discarded for another time. A few times James felt the wires move and the hand twitch, but since Sir didn’t seem to react, the response must have been on purpose.

The entire time, Sir kept a shoulder, or a leg, braced against James. While the constant contact seemed to help Sir maintain spatial awareness, it also helped James gauge Sir’s movements a bit. The leg meant Sir needed more tools while the shoulder meant Sir was looking at something delicate or small. Half of the arm had been closed back up before James realized that Sir wasn’t replacing it as much a truly fixing the arm.

When all but the access panels had been closed, Sir switched the arm back on. James closed eyes and braced for the influx of sensation and electricity. While the former happened the latter was significantly more gentle that James ever remembered. James stared at the arm a moment in amazement before noticing that Sir wanted him to do standard testing motions. James ran through the normal motion procedure mechanically until the 4th exercise of 10. James froze then. The sensation influx had died back to normal levels by this point and James was evaluating contact panels as the movement procedure required. It wasn’t until the 4th movement that James identified the major difference. Pain.

It wasn’t that there was no pain. James knew that pain meant physical damage in some form and warned the asset to evaluate its effect on overall abilities. Thus pain was important information. The arm had always used pain to communicate. Certain areas, when damaged, caused pain. Temperature differentials caused pain, mostly upon the connection between metal and flesh. Lack of support during resting intervals caused pain in the flesh shoulders and back. Lack of maintenance caused a searing pain that increased until next session. It was this last bit of pain that caught James's attention. It was gone. 

This pain had a very specific flavor that James could identify and thus ignore during a mission. James couldn’t remember when it had not been present. Until now. James sat on a stool with the arm held in front of the body, palm up and felt none of the normal maintenance pain at low grade.

“What is it? Something wrong? Did I miss something?”

“Missing.” James whispered. On some level James could hear the handler asking questions, but the lack of pain was very distracting. 

“What is missing? The tracker? Was it important for something else?”

Maybe that was it. Maybe the tracker the other handlers used caused the pain somehow. James shook its head. “Maintenance signal missing.”

Sir appeared confused. “There’s a signal that you need maintenance? In the arm?”

James nodded. “Pain increases until maintenance.” 

Sir blinked at James in confusion.  “Wait, so the pain is gone?” That was a question so James nodded. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

James looked back at the handler again. This wasn’t a question James should answer. That was the handler’s job. Much like last night, James attempted to point out the ambiguity of the question.

“How will this asset tell if the arm needs maintenance?”

Sir huffed in annoyance and James winced. This ‘vagueness’ objective did not make enough sense. After the arm was done, James would point this out.

“If the arm does something its not supposed to do, it needs maintenance. Fair? I’ll build you a better one once I have a better idea of what’s going on in there. That one I will be able to  _ tell  _ you a maintenance schedule for.”

James just stared at the arm. The idea of no ongoing pain was so novel, so disquieting, it felt like James had been carrying two heavy loads on his shoulder and someone had lifted the left one without lifting the right. Jame took a deep breath because the handler knows best.

James finished the movement procedure without any hiccups and admitted silently, and proudly, that Sir did know what he was doing as a technician. Sir studied the movements critically, but since no comment was forthcoming, James assumed the arm met with expectations.

When Sir rose, James followed. “Vague instructions Objective: instructions not understood.” James reported.

Sir glanced at James and tilted his head. “Okay. Um elaborate?”

James looked around for inspiration. Putting thoughts to words was an activity James was wholly unfamiliar with. James spotted the metal puppy. That could work. “Method of explaining vague instructions is unknown. This asset,  _ James _ doesn’t make mistakes. If no mistakes than James can be ‘good enough’. Previous method of requesting further information undesirable.”

Sir blinked at him in confusion. “Undesirable?”

James hesitated a brief moment. This could sound like a criticism to the handler, something James never dared do. “When James requests further information, annoyance is indicated. This is undesirable.”

Sir rolled his eyes and James felt worse for causing more annoyance. “Okay, let's start with this, me annoyed, not a bad thing. I get annoyed at the stupidest little things that don’t mean shit. Me mad is a bad thing, sure. But annoyed,  _ pish _ !” This was accompanied with a careless wave of a hand.

James glanced again at DUM-E and seeing that Sir was leaving space for input from James, the asset gestured to DUM-E, “DUM-E makes mistakes. DUM-E is important. DUM-E stays.” James gestures to the metal arm, “This asset makes mistakes. But is not important.” James's tongue caught before the last sentence. The idea of being rejected by a handler when there were no other handlers was mildly horrifying. The first mission from this handler was to eliminate all other handlers. Without Sir, James would be alone.

“Wait, wait, wait! You are not going anywhere. I mean unless you really really want to. You are staying. Final! And you are doing great.” James perked at that. Now James had two: ‘ _ Nice Job _ ’ and ‘ _ doing great _ ’. Sir kept talking, so James refused to ruminate on those words for now. “I mean I know it has to be disorienting coming here after wherever the fuck they had you. And this isn’t exactly a great Christmas and,  _ Christ _ , I only have another 45 minutes before I need to be back upstairs and do you want to come with me? I considered it, but I thought it might be too many people because the whole family is here and there are a lot of us, when the hell did my family get this big? But if you want you can come up. I mean the Commandoes will probably recognize you and Peggy too but we really should give Mom some space because last time she saw you wasn’t so great and ... are you going to stop my babbling at any point? Because I can babble nonsense for a very long fucking time.”

James waited for all the words to run out. There were several questions to address. “This location is preferable. DUM-E and JARVIS are adequate companions. No other companions are necessary. The history of size change in the family will require research. This asset will not call a halt to the handler’s speech at any point.”

The handler simply stared and briefly James wondered if more context had been needed in the answers since it had been a rather long speech for so few questions. Eventually, Sir spoke again, “His name changed to JARVIS Jr.”

James frowned at the tone, but could not place it so decided to let it be until further instructions. 

“Soooo, you want to stay down here? DUM-E does too. He’s not a Christmas person. Rhodey will stop by tomorrow to greet the special snowflake. But I could give you something. Anything you can think of? As a gift maybe?”

James frowned in thought. Gifts to an asset were usually something useful. James looked at the equipment. “Sturdy clothes.” The shirts were comfortable, but not practical and the older one was almost worn enough to attract attention in a crowd. The tac outfit hadn’t survived the Spring raid and James hadn’t found another of the right size yet.

Sir nodded, “One wardrobe coming up. Are you married to the henleys? They’ll get warm in the summer here. And what colors do you want?”

“One civilian outfit, navy or green. One tactical outfit in black. Boots size 28cm wide with steel toe and protected grip. Hip size 82 cm, leg length 79cm, chest measurement 130 cm.” James recited normal clothing requisition information. Some of those measurements, especially chest, may have decreased, but James would gain the weight back.

Sir blinked at him in surprise. “Oooookay. I can do that.” Sir seemed to find nothing to say to that for a moment. “That’s all you want? I mean for your gift?”

James considered this. No handler had asked what James  _ wanted _ only what James needed. There were many things James needed, most were provided already. James took a moment to shuffle through the needs to get to the wants, since Sir had asked specifically for that. Wants were harder. James usually didn’t want.

Looking back over the past two days, trying to pick out wants, James only really noted one, “Mission success.” When Sir blinked at James in confusion, James elaborated. Since expressing wants was a new activity, it may require more explanation.

“JARVIS Jr did ‘good enough’. This Asset has done a ‘nice job’ and ‘doing great’. This is mission success.”

Sir’s face scowled briefly and James wondered for a moment if it was still done wrong, but the handler cleared the expression and smiled. “You have done an amazing job, James.”

That one, James would remember forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barnes has been out of the Cryo and off the chair for a year plus. Some of that is helping the emotions to peek through
> 
> James doesn’t know Stark mansion by name only by address.
> 
> Thomas Nash is in fact a real person, involved in Hargreaves v Capital City Mortgage Corp 1998
> 
> I have no bloody clue how big Sebastian Stan is, I took a football jersey measurement list and grabbed the short end with a big chest.


	2. New Variables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James meets the Jarvis couple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: this is from James's perspective and thus seen through a lens of trauma and recovery.
> 
> Also, remember Tony is 22 (even if he remembers an extra 30 years) and there is very little literature on deprogramming at this point that isn't horrifying to us now so he's kind of flying blind

Days fell into a pattern after the maintenance interaction. Sir would visit after first meal, bringing nourishment for James. The clothes arrived the next day and James had immediately organized them for easy access. Sir would set the next disk of information to transfer to the computer set up in the work space between interacting with JARVIS Jr and DUM-E. Occasionally James participated in these interactions, but mostly James remained in the corner. 

The clothing package had included blankets and a pillow. This allowed James to set up an easily stowed bunk on the floor. JARVIS Jr assisted in explaining to Sir that James received better rest in that location than on the couch.

James spent much of this time discussing Sir with JARVIS Jr and DUM-E. Fortunately, JARVIS Jr could translate for the metal puppy, who had been Sir’s asset for years. James threw himself into learning the beeping language of the more experienced asset to shorten the lag in learning from the senior asset.

Sir would stop by at some point in the afternoon as well, bring nourishment for James and often some mission. Most of the time this activity involved a book or puzzle. James didn’t know what mission these were preparing for, but they were completed easily enough.

JARVIS Jr had access to Sir’s schedule, allowing James to know if the handler was leaving home that day. Due to the festivities, most of Sir’s destinations were busy and mildly chaotic. James had no issue fitting in and going unnoticed as Sir went about his business. JARVIS Jr always requested a detailed report upon James's return, though Sir had yet to ask for one.

It was also during this week when James noticed Sir wincing whenever James spoke. Upon further evaluation and verification with JARVIS Jr, it was concluded that Sir did not like James referring to him as Sir or Handler. James was uncertain what to do about this issue though.

A few days after the New Year, Sir came down with morning food a few hours early. JARVIS Jr had a business meeting on the calendar, but not until closer to midday so James leaped to attention. When Sir came through the door, another older man followed. James easily identified this man as Edwin Jarvis from past observations.

The man greeted JARVIS Jr and DUM-E fondly before turning to James. James stepped forward, ready for evaluation. During the numerous observation posts, James had identified Edwin Jarvis and Ana Jarvis as wardens of the household. While Sir was clearly the handler, Edwin Jarvis took much of the responsibilities of the home off the young engineer’s shoulders. 

This made Edwin Jarvis the top asset. 

James cast a quick review for internal checklist of duties. The bunking area was tidy and secreted under the cabinet Sir had acquired for James's equipment. Since James had to hide from a few visits from ‘Rhodey’ ( _Captain James Rhodes, USAF, strong ally of handler, trained soldier)_ habits had formed around such. James had also finished the reading for the previous night with little trouble since Sir had returned well before midnight. 

Reading done at Sir’s behest still puzzled James. The topics varied widely from informative manuals to fictional pieces. Sir required a report on James's response to the pieces, prompting James to attempt to recall literature dialogue. James's previous training naturally included most popular references and literature. HYDRA needed James to blend in, which sometimes required a knowledge of culture. As such, James had recognized Antigone and Nutcracker stories. The ballet even sparked an overwritten memory of children, girls. James hadn’t recalled anything further and Sir had simply hummed when James mentioned it. Some of the fiction books had also been familiar, though James was less certain that was due to the previous handlers. Sir had brought the Hobbit and James knew that story... _somehow_. Sir had brought a sequel the following night and James had devoured it with great excitement, though it failed to provide the same familiarity. Most of the books remained with James, possibly for reference when their use was needed. James took care to keep them organized and out of sight.

Edwin Jarvis halted in front of James and the soldier stood subtly straighter. If James made a good impression, Sir may raise James's importance. Edwin Jarvis glanced back at Sir and James was surprised to see Sir’s hopeful look. The handler seemed to regard Edwin Jarvis as a person whose opinion mattered. James suddenly felt slight panic seize his lungs. The sensation was startling in and of itself, and the source took a moment to parse.

Panic had been trained out of James long ago.

James blinked rapidly to refocus and Edwin Jarvis was now regarding him calmly. James licked dry lips, “Asset ready to comply.”

Sir made a whining noise behind Edwin Jarvis, but both assets ignored him. Edwin Jarvis let out a slow breath through his nose. “I see.” Edwin Jarvis glanced to James's corner before looking at James again.

“Please explain what that means.”

James swallowed subtly, “This asset is functioning at 90% efficiency. All mission objectives are up to date or complete. Home base has been identified and sufficiently supplied. Major interactions with Handler have been identified. Potential targets are being evaluated as observed. Maintenance on arm is in good standing. Handler has been accepted as primary priority until this asset is reset. New designation of James has been accepted and integrated. James is ready for a mission.”

Edwin Jarvis’s face did not change as James reported. Behind the Top Asset, Sir made a sort of gagging noise. Edwin Jarvis did not look, thus signalling that the sound was likely communicative, not health, in nature. Instead, the man hummed slightly before speaking again, “What is your current mission objectives?”

“Standing Objective 1: Remain within 50 meters of Handler at all times. Standing Objective 2: approach Handler when called. Standing Objective 3: Report ambiguity in instructions from Handler. Mission Objective 1: consume necessary food and rest to recover. Mission Objective 2: integrate information from Handler’s other assets. Mission Objective 3: Read Fellowship of the Ring, DOS for Dummies and Calvin and Hobbes.”

James caught a raised eyebrow directed at their Handler, who immediately put his hands up, waving in defense. “I don’t know what he wants to read, so I try a bit of everything. The only thing he’s recognized besides ' _classical literature'_ -and I mean yuck- was The Hobbit. I mean if they were going to make him well read, why such boring choices? At least something fun! Well...I mean…”

Sir trailed off as Edwin Jarvis shook his head with a smile. James didn’t understand the contradictory signals, but Sir relaxed so they must be positive. Edwin Jarvis turned back to James.

“Well, I understand you do not wish to join the rest of the household upstairs.”

James frowned before offering a slight shake of the head. “Remaining with other assets is preferable. Allows for better concealment and rest.”

Edwin Jarvis evaluated James's bunk area and seemed to find it wanting. James felt a slight droop to the shoulders at that. Edwin Jarvis just nodded, “Then a slight change will be in order. We should put up a partition. Young Master Tony doesn’t always remember to maintain an isolated working environment. It shouldn’t enter your space though.” Edwin Jarvis turned to Sir in question.

What followed was a rapid fire discussion of curtains and walls that James couldn’t follow well. Mostly this was because the two did not appear to need to complete sentences to communicate information. That yearning James had felt before was back. To be that useful, that known by the handler. James sought it as the most vital nourishment.

James restrained the internal impulse to reach forward, knowing an asset should wait until called on to speak. When JARVIS Jr asked a question out of turn, James winced for the fellow asset. Still the other two indulged the young asset. James watched as both men coaxed the young program on asking questions about living arrangements. In the process, James caught that some of this was for James's sake. They were attempting to see to the comfort of an asset like James. That implied long term use.

James felt overjoyed at that. James wasn’t going to be discarded.

Edwin Jarvis brought James out of the deep thoughts with a question. “Do you have an opinion on the building of this partition, James?”

James reviewed materials and options available. “German Medical Tents have structure design control.”

Sir brightened at that. “Completely compartmentalized, interchangeable military structures. I like it! We could pull the arid polymer from-”

“Sir, before you design a new product, may we attend to the business at hand?” Edwin Jarvis interrupted the handler. James automatically straightened sharply, prepared for the order to dispatch the rude asset. But Sir just rubbed his neck sheepishly.

“Right, temporarily, I can throw something together tomorrow from Bill, they had new MASH tents on the line up. We can talk products at the same time.” Sir waved. Edwin turned back to James.

“Ana will meet you this evening. She will help you get comfortable. If you require anything more, please do not hesitate to request it. Jr will send me a message if I am not down here.” Edwin Jarvis placed a hand on James's shoulder and James _felt_ that. It spread throughout the body like fire and James leaned into it somehow. It took more strength that James expected to lean away and allow Edwin Jarvis to leave.

* * *

Meeting Ana Jarvis had been more confusing. James had been performing general maintenance when the woman appeared with nourishment. Sir had promised not to leave for the office today, allowing James time to clean and perform general upkeep activities. Blending in proved far easier when basic hygiene remained up to date.

Unlike Edwin Jarvis, Ana Jarvis had not brought either man. JARVIS Jr identified her upon entrance and James returned to the cleaning activities. Ana Jarvis would speak if she required attention or assistance. 

James had just started the long and tedious task of shorting the frayed hair with nail clippers when Ana approached. James had learned earlier in the year that using a knife, unless extremely sharp, to cut hair rarely went well. Especially so close to the head.

“I could help you.” Ana’s suggestion drew James's attention and the woman placed a covered tray on the table. She glanced around the ordered corner with a slight frown, but since she did not speak, James ignored the observational glance for the offer.

“Better tools would be of assistance.” James offered. Unlike Edwin Jarvis, Ana Jarvis’s position in the household was organic and not entirely understood. At times she rose above her husband, and yet, Edwin Jarvis was clearly the head of the household assets.

She nodded. “I shall bring them. First, food. Young Master Tony’s heart is in the right place, but feeding anyone, including himself, has never been a skill of his.” James twitched at the criticism towards the handler, but Ana Jarvis was on the protected list. Instead, James looked at the tray as Ana lifted the cover. Hearty stew and warm biscuits sat on the tray. James had never had such fair.

They looked like food on a commercial. James reached out and picked up the biscuit curiously. It was soft, with subtle changes in heat and texture throughout the food. James set it back down and looked at the stew. Truthfully, James survived almost exclusively on meal bars. On occasion, some of the less surveilled restaurants were visited, where in the United States of America, a hamburger and fries were easily devoured. Each country had its own easily located and devoured food in its worst bars. Fish and chips on coastal Europe with schnitzel or sausage further inland. Asia liked to wrap everything in rice or dough and encased pastries were common in India and parts of central America. Africa and South America both liked their wrapped meat dishes, easy to pick up and stuff in the mouth during an exit.

This was nothing like those foods. It was in a bowl and there was no way to walk off with it. The biscuits at least, James recognized. James glanced at Ana Jarvis, but the woman had busied herself reorganizing the corner. James hoped it wasn’t too extreme a re-organizing.

James picked up the spoon provided and took a meat lump into his mouth, mostly focusing on Ana Jarvis. She was an unknown asset in James's space. That took precedence over other needs.

Until the spoon entered James's mouth.

Salt and oil burst on the assets tongue, cloying and soft. The warmth spread from the mouth, fighting the chill of the metal arm with a burning ferocity. James stood immediately, coughing as James expelled the food with extreme force.

James backed away from the tray with alarm. A small hand on James's shoulder had him spinning and pinning Ana Jarvis with a mistrustful look.

“What do you need?” she asked.

James blinked at her for a moment as she kept talking. Looking back at the tray and then to her again. It took a moment for her words to penetrate, so focused on the food, so alarmed at the sensation.

“James, turn your focus to your breathing. Ignore everything else. In….and Hold….Feel your breathing. Out… hold…. James feel the breath. Don’t look at anything but the blank floor. Feel the breath. In… hold…”

Gradually James followed Ana Jarvis’s instructions, though the purpose of this mission confused the asset. Still, if a superior asset claims it to be necessary, then James would do so. Focusing on the expansion of lungs was simple. James had to report on Asset condition often, requiring a greater than normal attention to the details of physical condition.

“Good. Very well done!” James perked up, brought out of the lung-focus mission abruptly by the praise. “Can you answer questions. Nod or shake your head if you can’t speak.”

James wondered if some assets here could not speak. Maybe very useful assets were allowed such a defect and Ana Jarvis had not been briefed on James's abilities yet?

“This asset is functioning at 85% efficiency, Ana Jarvis.”

Ana Jarvis cocked her head, probably evaluating James's response to adjust her instructions accordingly. “Please call me Ana.”

“Identification change accepted.”

“Oh dear,” Ana sighed. “We’ll get you settled. Don’t you worry. Now, can you identify what caused you alarm?”

James wondered briefly how much more settled as asset was required to be. Maybe it meant something different here. Maybe it was the initial evaluation assets underwent before permanent assignment and importance measure? That would make sense. James could use this time to showcase different abilities. For the moment, Ana had asked a question.

“The taste of the nourishment caused this asset alarm.”

“What did it taste like?”

“Warmth.” James spoke without considering the report and almost winced at the inaccuracy. “The texture was soft and full of non-essential sensations. This asset does not require this.”

Ana frowned at him a moment. “I see. Did Young Master Tony tell you that?”

James blinked at her a moment, before remembering that Edwin Jarvis also called Sir this. “The current handler has not altered this behavioral training.”

“I see. Well, in this house, anyone fed must also have good taste and good feelings in their food. Did the sensations feel good?”

James looked at her in confusion. Feel good? James searched recent and then older memories for ‘ _feel good_ ’. Coming up empty, James looked at Ana, this time gauging whether asking her was a breach of training. Still, current mission objectives require requesting clarification for vague instructions. But that was of the handler. Could James ask another Asset? James considered this. James asked JARVIS Jr and DUM-E for clarification at times. Both had been helpful and Sir seemed glad they were all cooperating. 

Carefully, James made sure to focus on Ana’s face to better gauge her reaction to asking a question. “This asset requests parameters for reporting level of ‘good’.” Ana’s face didn’t shift from the open and honest look she’d given James while James considered and thought through the situation.

“Well, I don’t have a quantifying scale. But something feels good when the presence of the sensation improves mental or physical wellbeing without causing pain.” Ana looked thoughtful and James wondered if the training of these Assets had included this definition from the start. James sometimes had a hard time articulating things from the training. Like wanting a handler, this was a fact of James's existence that James couldn’t explain to JARVIS Jr when asked a few nights previous.

James turned attention back to the nourishment on the tray. Did the sensation improve this assets wellbeing? James couldn’t tell. James picked up the spoon again. Another scoop looked the same, but before James could taste it, Ana placed a hand on the arm.

“Maybe a smaller bite. See if it's okay first.” Ana’s advice was sound.

James placed the spoon back in the bowl and refilled it only a fraction of the way. Carefully, the food was deposited on James's tongue and James evaluated his well being as the food went through the requisite chewing and swallowing. Placing the spoon on the tray, James turned to Ana.

“Body responses include increased saliva production, mild distress over soft texture and increase in perceived body temperature. Nutritional content of food appears adequate.” James reported. Ana frowned in thought.

“The soft texture is bad? Is feeling warmer bad?”

James considered this. “This asset is unused to soft textures. Thus unable to accurately judge soft textures for use.” James stopped. This next bit confused James. “The perceived increase in body temperature is a change. This asset is called Winter Soldier. This asset is always cold. The cold increases alertness and allows for better control. This warmth slows attentiveness and response time. This is undesirable in an asset.” Here James hesitated.

“But…?” Ana prodded.

“But, this asset also..desires this warmth?” James offered. Ana seemed pleased with this answer.

“That is okay. You can want different things at the same time.” Ana assured James.

James considered this a moment. Mission objectives were always prioritized, but within the mission different objective sometimes were juggled. Kill a speaker without harming security, retrieve a guarded object without being seen, conflicting needs that must be balanced to succeed. Yet these were nearly in opposition of each other. Still, James was the best asset because James could work within any complications. James nodded in understanding to Ana.

“Good! Now, I’ll go and retrieve a better meal for you and scissors. Lets get some of that hair tamed, shall we?”

Ana scurried out with the tray. James stared after her exit before turning to JARVIS Jr.

“Clarification request: which asset is superior, Ana or Edwin Jarvis?” James asked JARVIS Jr.

“There does not appear to be an absolute answer. Both Ana and Jarvis have taken charge in each other’s presence since December 21st. Neither has contradicted the other or disagreed in any way noted.” JARVIS Jr responded. James frowned. 

In the corner, DUM-E brought over the normal ball with a few beeps. James took the ball and tossed it as requested, but the additional beeps were incomprehensible to James. Communication with the older asset was still an ongoing mission.

“DUM-E explains that they do not fit in the same hierarchy. Rather their skills are complementary and thus each in charge when appropriate.” JARVIS Jr appeared to consider this a moment, “The intricate communication necessary for such a seamless transition without direct link is complex and worth further study.”

“Was the third statement of DUM-E or JARVIS Jr?” James asked. Clarification was necessary since James was attempting to decipher the language.

“DUM-E only spoke the first two sentences.”

James cataloged the myriad of sounds and movements not associated with the ball throwing request and their meanings for future reference. DUM-E’s communication division between physical expression, tone and verbal content did not match that of human society, which typically stuck to the 60-30-10 ratio. DUM-E’s verbal abilities were limited to 12 sounds, pushing the percentage of communicated information from 10% of total to merely 3% of total. However, DUM-E had complete and accurate control over tone, able to reproduce a sound at precisely the same frequency and volume each time. This expanded DUM-E communication style to nearly 45% tone and physical motion at a similar 46%. The remaining communication appeared to be in computer code, transmitted across the network with JARVIS Jr, though there was a small screen in a corner for DUM-E’s use. James's advancements meant the change in tones were within the super hearing’s range. Translating that into communication, on the other hand, was taking more effort. Especially since JARVIS Jr didn’t actually know the language either, utilizing the direct link for information.

Luckily DUM-E was extremely patient. James had learned enough to be able to participate in DUM-E’s common activities, though the asset was very protective of the fire extinguisher for reasons James still had not fully grasped.

“Here we are.” Ana re-entered the room, carrying another tray. She set it on the table and lifted the covering. James didn’t recognize the food, but the scissors were met with relief. Hopefully Ana would take care of the entire grooming activity since James had been told by random strangers that the normal haircut looked odd.

Ignoring the haircut activity for a moment, James investigated the food. The biscuits from before were still present, but they’d been cut in half and filled with layers. The sandwiches appeared to have egg and cheese and other foods James couldn’t identify. 

James lifted one of the sandwiches and bit into it. Using a small bite, mindful of Ana’s previous suggestion.

Again flavor burst on the tongue. Salty and sweet warred in warm and crunchy mix. James processed similar responses to before: increased saliva production, increased body temperature, heightened texture response. But this was at a more controllable level. The food wasn’t excessively soft or flavorful. James returned attention to Ana, realizing she’d been speaking as she set up the hair cut while James had been sampling the food.

“-do much better. I know Young Master Tony prefers bars down here but that’s no way to learn about good food. Not in this household! My lands and stars! I do the cooking and the people here will eat wonderful meals that nourish the mind and spirit, not _just_ the body!” Ana bustled back to the tray to pick up the scissors, looking up at him, “So?”

“Similar bodily responses, no alarm, nutritional content unknown” James reported. 

Ana sighed and nodded, “Yes, there is no vegetables or fruit. I’ll work that in tomorrow. I think you may like cobblers. Pies are definitely out for now. Never fear! Picky eaters are not the worst I’ve dealt with. You should have seen Young Master Tony! One month, he refused to eat anything but spinach. Land-sakes, that child. He’d seen what spinach did to that cartoon sailor, Popeye, and thought spinach could make him more like Captain America, bless his heart. Convincing him to eat other foods had been a job, I tell you. And you don’t need to like everything, dear. Maria, upstairs, can’t stand pears. Utterly rejects them, I tell you! Here we are.”

Ana had coaxed James into the seat as she spoke, passing another sandwich. James bite into this one as the asset observed Ana chattering away. Most of the information lacked any use, but James found its presence soothing in a way. James could even close eyes and follow her movements because the voice allowed tracking without sight.

“Now, you finish those right up. Young Master Tony tells me you need at least 3 times a normal person! Goodness! That explains why you’re skin and bones! I saw when I came in, though I do apologize for not giving you privacy for changing. Young Master says he has walls in the works for you so don’t you worry! He’ll fix that up right soon. Now that sandwich is egg and cheese and bacon. I thought the crunchy bacon might help. If you only eat hard bars, you may not be used to the softer foods. Don’t you worry, we’ll get you there. Now do you have a preference for your hair?”

It took James a moment to realize Ana required feedback. “Blending in is priority.”

Ana nodded, “you’ve got a face for it. Lets lose a bit of hair, this longer hair is falling out of style now, but 7 or 8 years ago, you’d have fit right in with Master Tony’s group. Not that you’d want to. Took advantage of Young Master! Nasty, nasty people, and with Master Tony all hurting for friends too! The good Captain Rhodes, a cadet then, he's a good one. My Edwin was ever so happy when Young Master Tony took up with him. I’m starting the snipping.”

James appreciated the warning before the clean slide of the scissors near the face happened. Most sharp objects near the face meant pain and James didn’t want to lash out at Ana by accident. That had happened to technicians who were to unpredictable before. Instead, James focused on her chatter about their shared handler in college.

When she was done, she handed James the fifth and last sandwich, wiping and collecting all the hair strewn about, calling to DUM-E to bring a broom. The metal puppy zoomed over with the broom cheerfully and James took a moment to soak up the two of them cooperating. Ana clearly enjoyed teaming up with DUM-E in their designated tasks. Maybe James could be paired up here?

James was special. James was the best. So it was rare that James had a partner. James rarely needed one, but sometimes...James shuffled that thought away. This was not James's decision to make.

Ana looked at the plate before looking at James. “Now, evaluate whether that was enough food until morning.”

James considered. The unknown quantity of nutrition in the meal was a confounding factor. James was used to calculating this directly. James reviewed similar foods, but came up with no comparisons. There was no way to count this. It was unknown. “Unknown.” James looked at Ana quickly. Answering like that was a risk.

Ana took that answer in stride, “That is a brave answer! Good job!” James perked up. “Admitting you do not know something can be scary. In this case, we will have to try and see. I shall bring breakfast first thing. Do you like pancakes?”

James blinked at her, thinking back. Vaguely, a memory of something sweet appeared, but James couldn’t pull it into focus. Generally that meant it was knowledge that previous handlers did not view as important and had discarded. “Unknown.”

“Are you willing to try them?”

“This asset will eat as required.”

This was the first response that got a frown from Ana. James had been doing so good with her, that it sent James scrambling to understand what happened. Maybe Ana wanted more specific information for the pancakes?

“This asset will eat pancakes when provided?” James clarified. 

Ana gave him a pat on the arm and a smile. “That’s good.” James relaxed a bit. “I’ll speak with Master Tony. We’ll have you try lots of foods. Never you worry.”

James felt a lump take residence in what should be a throat. Ana would report to Sir. It made sense that all the assets reported to Sir. Especially if this ‘settling in’ meant James was still being evaluated. James reviewed the activities with Ana. Several praises stood out and no corrections. That was good. Maybe the report would be good? Maybe Sir will finish the evaluation and give James an important mission?

“Do you need anything else tonight?” Ana’s question broke through the thoughts and James evaluated the condition of the room and supplies.

“All parameters for the night are met.”

Ana patted the arm again, “Excellent. Sleep well, James. Good night Jr.”

“Pleasant Dreams Mrs Ana.”

“Charge happy, DUM-E dear.”

Slow, if happy, beeps fluttered from the corner.

James watched as she left. Of all the assets met during James's time, Ana was by far the most confusing to interact with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Ana and Jarvis Sr!!!! BTW Tony learned to talk continuously from Ana X) I love writing these two. They are so much fun! And I love writing Tony when he's with them!
> 
> So, Floppy disks were slow. I remember that! Tony can't wait for USBs
> 
> The Hobbit came out before Bucky and Steve would have "died". But the LOTR trilogy came out some time after. I see them both as sci-fi/fantasy fans
> 
> Also, Since James is not in fact a machine, he's estimating his own percents to the nearest 5%
> 
> The food issue is one I wanted to address because I think it gets overlooked too often. When you are used to a certain food and you are under stress, changing your diet is not advisable. It actually does add physical and mental stress. I wanted to show that here.
> 
> DUM-E's communication breakdown: They say most people communicate 10% actual words, 60% body language and 30% voice tone. DUM-E, first doesn't say words as much as have a few sounds he can make. But with processors, he can control those sounds pretty much to the hertz division (high vs low pitch). He also does have a mobile body with expressive parents (Tony and Rhodey) so he communicates 3% "words", 46% body language, 45% tone/pitch, and the remainder 6% he can't express is done with a computer link up. Tony, especially in the future, has a subconscious understanding of much of this, but he couldn't put it to words as cleanly as JJ or James here.


	3. Protocol Reassignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new Handler means new priorities. That is important!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!!!!!!!

Edwin Jarvis accompanied Ana the next morning. James stood up straight. Maybe the handler had decided on the evaluation with input from Ana the previous night. Sir hadn’t come down yet to the basement yet. James suspected that Sir did not often awaken before 0700 hours. It did not matter. Sir’s assets were all more than capable of taking care of necessities until then.

Edwin Jarvis carried several folded blankets and a coat rack. James almost broke training by coming forward to help, but then the training took hold again. Ana huffed as she set the tray on the table.

“If you would be so kind as to take that from my husband, Dear.”

With permission given, James darted forward, gathering the coat rack and cloth easily. Edwin Jarvis thanked the asset for the assistance before directing the objects to sit near the stowed bunk. While James placed the items in their designated spots, Edwin Jarvis disappeared again.

“James,” Ana called out. James directed its gaze to the woman. “If you think you can be of assistance to someone in the household, it is okay to offer.”

James blinked at her, trying to understand. Sir said this phrase often, “it is okay to…”. James didn’t understand the phrase. Did that mean James was expected to? Did that mean James simply wouldn’t be punished for it? James had inquired to JARVIS Jr with no luck. The younger asset was as baffled as James was.

DUM-E was less baffled by the phrase and more by James's and JARVIS Jr’s confusion. DUM-E indicated that an asset should always offer. But James had seen DUM-E offer and get scolded. DUM-E had stated that Sir used that as a mode of affection. Even JARVIS Jr disagreed with that. James explained that DUM-E was more valuable than James and thus allowed more mistakes. 

DUM-E claimed James was incorrect.

Both JARVIS Jr and James had tried to convince DUM-E to clarify that, but DUM-E simply kept saying that James was incorrect. James considered that a human asset may be able to explain better. For the moment, unfortunately, asking Ana or Edwin Jarvis anything was a risk. James still didn’t have an evaluation.

“Now, while we are waiting, try these!” Ana requested as she whipped the cover off a tray. James eyed the food with a new mix of curiosity and circumspection. Neither of these were common feelings and James viewed them with the same interest as the food.

On the tray sat 4 stacks of 3 yellow cakes. Each stack contained cakes with different decoration. James could identify blueberries and chocolate chips on two. One was plain, while the other was bits of something tan. Next to the plate sat several stripes of meat, a large bowl of cut fruit and another one of a green and purple mix. There was a glass of white and one of orange along with several smaller dishes of pastes and liquids. It looked very complicated.

James eyed the tray with serious misgivings and suddenly hoped that Edwin Jarvis returned for James to offer assistance to again. Ana looked between the food and the frozen asset a moment before frowning slightly. James took a step forward at that, sensitive to displeasing a senior asset. But Ana held up her hand.

“Wait a moment. I think I have an idea.” Ana placed the tray covering on the tray again and turned away, “Be right back!”

James watched her as she hurried out of the room, not even nodding to Edwin Jarvis as the older man re-entered.

Edwin Jarvis spared a glance after his wife, but James took the pair of coat racks from him immediately. Edwin Jarvis seemed content to ignore Ana’s odd behavior and set about working with James to provide a rudimentary partition between the main area of the lab and the bunk James had claimed.

James regarded the structure skeptically. After they were through, Edwin Jarvis stepped back. “Now, what do you think?”

James glanced at Edwin Jarvis, but the asset didn’t appear to be looking for praise but a frank evaluation. “Blocks view of entrance and Handler’s primary locations. Flimsy cover. Hazardous to circumvent. Unsustainable.” James concluded. Edwin Jarvis appeared to take this in a moment.

“I see.” 

James tensed. That phrase almost never meant anything good.

But Edwin Jarvis seemed content to stare at it as the door opened again with Sir and Ana returning, Ana speaking rather quickly.

“-eating with him for the foreseeable future, but really, Master Tony, you do like to give me a challenge!”

“I just don’t want you to get bored Ana.” Sir’s cheerful response had Ana stuttering. Sir ignored her to focus on Edwin Jarvis, “Jarvis! How goes the building?”

James watched as Edwin Jarvis reported James's evaluation and the two of them delved into one of their conversations where only half the sentences were spoken aloud. James gritted his teeth. James wanted that communication with the handler.

“James?”

James abruptly turned to Ana. Sir would give James attention when James deserved it. Until then, James must do everything to the very best of the training given.

“Come, we shall eat.”

Glancing over at the table revealed a smaller tray with a single plate had accompanied Ana and was settled across the table from the large plate meant for James. This, of course, meant James would have to brave the food.

When James regarded the food with the new mixture of emotions, Ana set a hand on the metal wrist. “Now. How about this. Lunch will always be those nutrition bars you and Young Master Tony like so much. Breakfast will be with me and evening meal will be something you’ve already tried and liked. This way you can try new things, but only some each day.”

James blinked at her in confusion. This...did not compute.

“Clarify: why try new foods each day?”

Ana seemed as happy with that request for information as any other. “You don’t know many foods. We need to learn what you want to eat.”

“This asset will eat what is given.”

Ana sighed, “Remember what I said last night? In this household people will…”

“eat wonderful meals that nourish the mind and spirit, not  _ just _ the body.” James obediently parroted back.

Ana nodded, “Exactly. But everyone’s mind and spirit need slightly different foods to nourish them. So we have to try and find yours.”

James considered this. It was true that asset education had not included this aspect of nutrition. James knew total calories and distribution of macro nutrients necessary to maintain proper body condition for a mission. Could this be something the previous handlers failed at? Maybe Sir wouldn’t provide James with an important mission until this settling in period because  _ they  _ lacked this information. 

James eyed the food. This method of trial and error seemed inefficient at best. Evaluation criteria were ill-explained and amount of food tested at a single interval was limited.

“Conclusion of this study would be quicker if smaller portions of greater diversity of samples were provided.”

Ana shook her head, “It doesn’t work like that. You have to eat a portion, not just a bite.”

James still did not understand this mission, but since Ana was senior asset and Sir was not disagreeing behind James, “Please proceed.”

“Okay, so first take a bite of plain pancakes”

* * *

James pondered this morning as the asset dodged yet another secretary scurrying around the office. Sir was in a loose, open meeting with four researchers on the lab floor. James guarded him from the walkway above, mostly out of sight.

Ana had many combinations of pancakes and insisted James try each. The fourth pancake stack, which had walnuts added, had been best for James. The crunch of the nuts were familiar. The syrup had been more annoying than anything else, but James agreed that the addition of fruit jam improved the pancakes. The butter and margarine were left alone after an initial taste. Ana assured James that tasting them on something, rather than by themselves was a different experience, but James doubted anything could improve  _ that  _ taste that much. Ana had not insisted and James liked that.

This ‘like’ thing was confusing, but James was slowly getting the hang of it. James liked things that made memories of training positive and did not like things that James's training disagreed with. Things that did not fall into those two categories were more complicated. Sometimes James could tell that it ‘felt good’ to use Ana’s definition. Like eating the bacon this morning. That had ‘felt good’. The crunchy and salty made more saliva and James felt the same endorphins released as when a good fight was concluded. 

The fruit had hurt.

This was new and Ana had been patient as James struggled to explain. James felt no pain but the fruit taste hurt. It was confusing. Ana said it meant James was not ready for that taste yet. James wondered if the taste would be related to whether James was ready for evaluation. The final piece of the meal, the green and purple bits, had been a crunchy vegetable salad, which Ana claimed to have made specifically for James's need for vegetables and crunch in the morning. The taste had been mild and fulfilling. That substance was designated by Ana as a ‘keeper’, which James decided meant that food qualified as feeding body, mind and spirit. James had almost celebrated. Finding one on the very first try was a good sign. It meant the mission may not be as long as James had thought.

After the meal, James inspected the partition Sir and Edwin Jarvis had built. They assured James that it was a temporary installment, with the requested bunker walls coming in a month or two. The new iteration clearly showed the handler’s engineering talent as it was sturdy enough to handle James using it as an ambush point while still being mobile enough to get out of the way without being completely destroyed. James still thought it removed too much line of sight, but Sir pointed out that James could leave it folded to one side if James wished better vision of the entire room. This compromise showed the superiority in handlers as James recalled previous handlers who placed James in an obvious disadvantage without considering alternatives.

Below the vantage point, James saw Sir laugh with one of the researchers and James marked that researcher as possible target for information. James would compile a file on that researcher tonight. Stark Industries employed over 30,000 people in the US alone, but Sir only interacted with a few hundred on any given day. Many were innocuous and James simply filed their names as possible future people of note. Some were not so innocuous, like Obadiah Stane. James did not like that person interacting with the handler.

Obadiah Stane was known to the asset. The business man valued profit over legality or emotional connection. Normally, James approved as it made individuals more predictable and often more successful, however, the handler disapproved, thus James disapproved. 

Also, Obadiah Stane’s goals were a threat to James's handler.

This was unacceptable. James considered outright assassination, however, Sir seemed to make use of Obadiah Stane in some way. Thus Obadiah Stane would continue to live. James remembered earlier handlers also preferred to delay assassinations until use of an enemy ran its course. For those missions James would observe until given the signal. Then the enemy target would fall by the asset’s hands.

Still, James felt some separation of offices would be prudent in this case. On occasion, James had noticed Obadiah Stane attempting to enter Sir’s office unobserved. So far it had not succeeded but James thought he might today. Much of the office was in a rush over a new product launch. James had overheard one manager talk about how this would really separate Stark Medical into its own business. Thus desks were empty as meetings were attended to complete last minute preparations.

Of course, this also made James's job harder. Staying unnoticed, while easier when everyone was distracted, became complicated when you had to physically dodge a lot of unpredictably chaotic businessmen. Though this worked against James, Obadiah Stane had a hand on these schedules and James noticed the sly businessman slip away nearly 10 minutes ago.

Sir was still in the middle of the researchers on the floor and likely to remain occupied for at least 20 more minutes. James debated briefly between the two protection strategies for a moment before heading towards Obadiah Stane. The long term risk outweighed the current short term danger.

Obadiah Stane did indeed make for Sir’s office. The security detail on the floor met his eyes and nodded. James marked them as potential assassins for Sir. Obadiah Stane slipped into the door with practiced quiet and calm. James circled the floor to the office of Mr Kyle Hearth. The man had an easily opened window and a simple ledge approach to a good view of Sir’s office.

James situated in a tight but comfortable corner out of the wind and not terribly visible to watch. The binoculars allowed James's already superb vision to actually read the computer screen. Although term like ‘PGM’ and ‘MTAR’ meant little to James, the term ‘Missile’ spoke for itself. James memorized the file and folder names as Obadiah Stane copied them from Sir’s computer. 

The next bit of computer work was beyond James's understanding. Some commands were recognized but others were not. James retrieved a small notebook from the back pocket and recorded all the commands exactly as seen. Sir would understand them. The current handler was one of the best in computers.

Obadiah Stane stopped on his way out at the wet bar. The man felt confident enough with himself to pour a few fingers of what was probably scotch going by the decanter shape. He then toasted a portrait on the wall before downing it and returning the glass to its former position.

James made note to catch Sir before the handler could accidentally touch the glass without being warned. Obadiah Stane’s overconfidence was premature. The man would have made a bad asset. But if Sir had use of the man, James would simply run interference until the removal order was given. Maybe that was part of the mission James was being assessed for? Obadiah Stane had many connections and Sir must need to understand them well before removing such an important enemy. James could be the asset that collects such debts.

James left this thought for further evaluation later and returned to Kyle Hearth’s office. Slipping back in was simple and James knew the man wouldn’t be returning from the financial analysis anytime soon. Thus, James's surprise when there was a person waiting outside the office door.

The handler looked perturbed. James remembered that annoying the handler was not a dimeritable offense, but that didn’t settle the asset’s gut much. Sir sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dare I ask why you are scaling my building?”

James blinked in confusion. It was an odd question. But since the handler appeared to be waiting for an answer, James replied, “So far, you appear to dare to do anything that assists you in your goal without compromises your moral integrity, Sir.”

The frown deepened. “Fine. We will discuss this when I get home. I don’t have time right now.”

James felt a rock plummet through the asset’s gut. James had been seen. This caused problems for the handler. This caused James to fail in avoiding detection. This asset failed.

“Wha-” James croaked before swallowing, “What are your orders, Sir?” James had not ever failed this handler before. 

‘ _ Nice Job _ ’ 

James had been doing so well with this handler. James thought maybe this handler could make James better. This asset could be useful.

_ ‘You’re doing great _ ’

James had learned so much. And met many good assets. JARVIS Jr, who was a young asset, but eager to learn everything. DUM-E who knew so much and was so highly valued. Edwin Jarvis, an asset warden who attended to everything their handler needed. And Ana. Ana was the confusing asset and James hadn’t figured Ana out yet. Would James have to start over now? Was there no other way to train this asset?

‘ _ You have done an amazing job, James. _ ’

James didn’t want the wipe. For the first time in this asset’s memory, James wanted to protest the training.

A strong hand gripped the asset’s elbow and yanked the asset into the office. The handler was speaking to the asset. The asset forcefully turned its attention to the instructions given.

“-four. Take a deep breath in and hold it for two, three, four. Let it out and hold for two, three, four. Now take another breath in slowly, two three four and hold it two, three, four…”

The asset still didn’t understand the significance of the breathing mission that both the handler and the Asset Ana requested. The asset automatically began to perform its new mission function. Matching breathing was not difficult, any asset with lungs could do it. 

Six rounds later, the handler stopped repeating the breathing mission and the asset automatically returned to normal breathing patterns, waiting for further instructions. “Asset is ready to comply.”

The asset was ashamed that the breathing mission was required to remind the asset to focus on the mission. The asset did not get to  _ want _ . An asset  _ did not _ want. An asset did.

“Talk to me. What happened?”

The asset obediently reported the success of the breathing mission. The handler blinked at the asset in confusion.

“No, before that. I mean, what were you thinking after I said we’d talk when we got home tonight?”

The asset accessed its memory. “This asset malfunctioned. This asset perceived mission failure: Avoid Detection. Mission failure: Do Not Inconvenience Handler. Mission Failure: Do not waste Handler’s time. Upon Mission failure, this asset malfunctioned. This asset did not accept retraining requirement. This asset assessed avoiding retraining for viability. This asset requires training.”

The asset stood at attention, waiting. The handler huffed out a breath of either annoyance or exasperation. The asset was uncertain. 

“Okay, okay, let’s slow down a moment. First, not avoiding detection and inconveniencing me are not mission failures. Those may be good ideas, but not a failure point. Got it?”

“Parameters updated.”

The handler winced, but the asset could not see any injury. Conclusion was that the winced was a reaction to the asset’s voice in some manner.

“As for wasting my time, as I said, we will discuss it tonight. Do not call it a mission failure until the discussion. Understood!”

“Mission evaluation extension accepted.”

“Okay, good. Now we need to back up to the malfunction. You said you did not accept retraining? What do you mean? Clarify.”

“This asset considered information learned during this time to be important. This information has made this asset a better asset for the handler. This is in error. This assessment is the purview of the handler.”

The handler frowned. “Okay. Is that the only reason?”

The asset hesitated. The asset had never before not reported thoughts contradictory to primary objectives. But the asset had just done so. Now the asset had malfunctioned again. “This asset must report Primary Protocol 4 activation. This asset desired to remember.”

The handler actually looked pleased with that. The asset had done well. “What did you want to remember?”

The asset opened its mouth a moment before closing it. How to explain? The asset did not understand itself. Finally the asset chose the most important memory the asset had desired to keep, “This asset desired to always remember the handler saying, ‘ _ You have done an amazing job, James. _ ’.”

The handler looked at the asset in amazement. The first response the handler attempted was a croaking sound and the handler had to clear his throat. “James, that is not a malfunction.”

The asset looked at the handler in confusion.

“James, you did not fail today. What you just did was probably hard. It was probably terrifying. But…” The handler seemed to struggle for words a moment before smiling. “I’m proud of you.”

The  asset,  James felt like a punch had knocked the wind right out of the strong lungs. James stared at the handler in amazement. “Sir...Sir is proud?” When that received a nod from the handler, James swallowed and dared another question, “James is a good asset?”

This time Sir reached out a hand to rest on the James's shoulder. “You are doing great.”

James knelt in front of Sir. James understood now. Sir was different than other handlers. Sir wanted different things than other handlers. Sir wasn’t updating James's training, Sir was retraining James. James was being assessed so long because James had been deemed worthy of retraining. James would become Sir’s best asset! 

A small part of James fractured and broke away. Like an egg shell on a baby bird. James could stop using Primary Protocol 4. It was invalid. In its place was something worth more. More than a primary protocol had ever been worth. ‘ _ This asset desired to always remember the handler saying, ‘You have done an amazing job, James. _ ’.’ This was valued by Sir.

“James understands. James will consider memories valuable.” 

Sir smiled. James caused Sir to smile. That was good. “Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, I really need to return to work. So we’re good to table this until after dinner?”

James almost nods before frowning, “Suspicious activity report may be relevant before this evening.”

“Suspicious activity?”

“Obadiah Stane was observed entering Sir’s office. Obadiah Stane downloaded the following files from the computer and then implemented this code.” James handed Sir the notebook, open to the code page and listed off the files and folders Obadiah Stane had downloaded.

Sir frowned harder at the list, but this time James was certain the irritation was directed at Obadiah Stane. “Obadiah Stane then partook in the main scotch decanter using the leftmost glass on the tray. Obadiah Stane returned the glass to its previous location after toasting the portrait on the wall.

Sir’s face grew blacker. “Goddamn bastard. No wonder the analysis team is up in arms. Fucking prick increased everyone’s stress just so he could get access to my computer. And if he thinks this virus will give him anything the back-stabber underestimates me.”

Sir looked at James. “This is why you were scaling my building?”

James nodded. “Normally, it is easier to guard Sir from inside the building but observing a closed room is best done from the windows.”

Sir snorted and James hoped it was a good chuckle.

“Okay. Good Job with this. I’ll handle it once I don’t have two departments calling for my attention. And don’t worry about the files he got.”

James nodded. Sir had to have known about the traitor in Stark Industries. Sir had planned for this. 

A knock at the door followed by someone calling Sir’s name ended their conversation. Sir sighed and hurried out of the room, growling under his breath about overly-panicky financial departments. James slid from the room a moment later and returned to the corners of the office to guard Sir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo....I hate when people say "It is okay to..." I can never tell whether they are humoring me, whether they want me too and are oo polite to ask, whether they are ambivalent, or what. So James had that here because I find it extremely aggravating.
> 
> Okay, so James's argument with Ana about the pancakes is almost exactly the argument my mom had with my brother once when she enforced our house rule (you have to try everything once). I had to put it in here. 
> 
> So fruit can be tart or mega sweet. Something like that when you are not used to either flavors can feel like pain. Not in the injured sense, but in the don't-get-closer-to-the-flame sense.


	4. Access Credentials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Handlers...New rules...New Beliefs...New.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I started a new job!!!!!! Yay!!!! But it means I forgot about posting this. Oops! Enjoy

James arrived at Stark Mansion before Sir. Sir made a habit to talk with the driver and thus remained in the driveway a few extra minutes. James greeted DUM-E and JARVIS Jr as the asset removed mission clothing. Ana was waiting on James with a tray.

Lunch had been three energy bars. The familiarity was comforting in a way the asset was still trying to comprehend. The meal on the tray sported several hamburgers. This was a meal James knew well. On one plate were slices of other foods.

Ana was just in the middle of explaining that James could use the other foods and sauces to enhance the hamburger when Sir and Edwin Jarvis entered the lab talking. James glanced their way immediately, but they were focused on their discussion with JARVIS Jr. 

“Is there something?” Ana placed a hand on James's wrist where it had stopped lifting food. 

James set the sandwich down and frowned in thought. “Ana, could you...This…” James struggled with the words. This was unacceptable! The asset should be able to perform all tasks without hesitation, without fail. These new words and thoughts though, James needed more training in them.

“Take your time. I will stay until you get your words out, dear.” Ana smiled. She picked up another hamburger and began adding tomatoes to it. 

James took a deep breath and centered the thoughts swirling. This method of calming was part early training. Training James didn’t remember, but were instead imprinted hard on the core of the asset. “What do you call Sir?”

Ana regarded him curiously. “I suppose I mostly call him Master Tony. It depends a little on the circumstances. Why do you ask?”

James frowned. “JARVIS Jr called the handler ‘Sir’. This seems to cause distress when this asset uses the same name. This asset does not want to cause the handler distress. Should this asset use Master Tony?”

Ana shook her head with a frown, “No, I do think that would make him even more uncomfortable.” Ana seemed to think a moment. “James, Tony has some core values. Beliefs, if you will, that your...situation contradicts. The dissonance is why he dislikes you specifically, calling him Sir. ‘Master’ will have the same result, I’m afraid.”

James blinked. “What are these beliefs?” James asked, always interested in better understanding the handler.

Ana sighed. “That no human should be objectified and used without clear and informed consent.”

This was an interesting belief. It took James a few minutes to track a meaning from that. “DUM-E said something similar.”

“Oh?”

James nodded, “DUM-E said humans should not be programmed. DUM-E said this asset should not be programmed, but should create a program for itself.”

“DUM-E was raised by Young Master Tony and Captain Rhodes. Both believe in self determination. And they believe in freedom. That’s why DUM-E is who he is.” Ana agreed.

James frowned and looked back over to where Sir was growling at his computer. Edwin Jarvis had a hand on their handler’s shoulder as his typed furiously. As a handler, Ana and Edwin Jarvis and JARVIS Jr and DUM-E loved Sir. Everything James had trained for as HYDRA’s asset said it was mission success that indicated a good handler, but James wondered how this clear devotion measured up to that.

James turned back to Ana, “What should the handler be called, to not cause distress?”

* * *

It was nearly midnight when the handler Tony yelped in success. “Gotcha, you old bastard!”

“Really, Sir! Your language. Mr Stane’s mother was quite respectable!” Edwin Jarvis admonished. Tony ignored the man though. James watched as Tony did a little dance.

“I found some foreign contacts to snoop around in! This is great!” Tony crowed. He held up a hand and it took a moment before Edwin Jarvis slapped the palm with his own.

“Congratulations, Sir. Shall I upgrade the morning coffee to mimosas?”

Tony snorted and devolved into chuckles as the engineer turned his attention to the laptop collecting the information James had brought from the previous handlers. After Tony had exchanged out a disk, he turned to where Ana and James had finished their meal hours ago and James was re-reading DOS for Dummys from several nights earlier. 

“Hear that, Tasty Freeze? I'm good! Oh way! I'm awesome!” Tony’s excitement was infectious, apparently, because DUM-E rolled over to see the commotion and to wave its arm around in celebration. James was glad the mission was successful.

Tony danced for a few more moments before taking a deep breath, “whew! Okay. So one more thing before bed tonight. We gotta talk about you scaling my building today.”

“Indeed. Your mother would have had words for you for allowing it, Young Master.” Edwin Jarvis informed Tony. Tony winced before waving at Edwin Jarvis.

“Anyway, you can just stay here during the day, James. There’s no need to follow me all day.”

James frowned. This was in direct contradiction to one of the earlier objective from this handler. Before James could comment, JARVIS Jr informed the handler and Edwin Jarvis of this exact fact. Tony rubbed a hand on his neck, a sign James was learning to associate with embarrassment in the handler.

“Oh yeah. James I can change those objectives. You know, have you not need to stay within-”

“No!” James burst out. 

James froze. James had interrupted a handler. James had told a handler no. That..that was NOT allowed!

“James!”

Not allowed!

“James breath!”

Electricity flooded the brain over and over.

“Focus on my voice!”

No more mistakes! No more disobedience!

“Breath in, come on!”

Surges of pain from the arm and the chair.

“Use those super lungs of yours!”

The chair loomed big. 

“James, you’re safe!”

They had too good a grip. No fighting! No fighting…

“I’ve got you!”

_Fighting_ …

Suddenly James felt warm firm skin against his face. Gasping in surprise, the smell of grease, metal and cologne chased the antiseptic and bleach away. A gentle hand cradled the back of the head, not gripping the hair to control, but coaxing, pushing the face into the new and unfamiliar neck.

Yet it was so familiar. James had spent the last 2 months learning the man attached to this neck. A twitch of shoulders, told James that both arms were free. A pair of legs were wrapped around the waist and James let the weight drag this asset to its knees. The metal arm came around to ensure the body did not fall as James shoved the asset's superior nose into the soft neck and inhaled, imprinting this scent to memory. This scent was safe. This scent was James's life now.

“Breath in two, thee, four. Hold two, three, four. Breath out, two, three four. Hold two three, four”

James heard the breathing mission coming from Edwin Jarvis behind the asset. Tony was whispering nonsense in the other ear. Something about conductivity, James latched onto that voice. DUM-E’s beeps started in the background behind Edwin Jarvis’s recitation of the breathing mission.

James blinked, realizing that DUM-E was using Morse code. 

Beep Beep Beep

Beep Beeeeeeep

Beep Beep Beeeeeeep Beep

Beep

DUM-E had much more complicated means of communication. Meaning this was for James's benefit. _S-A-F-E_. DUM-E keep repeating those letters.

James took a deeper breath than Edwin called for and wrapped the other, flesh, hand around Tony’s back.

“James stays with Tony.”

James tensed when Tony did. James hoped Tony would accept James's request.

“Okay”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its short, but what do you think?


	5. Compile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James realizes this is paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys...I'm sorry this took so long! I started a new job! YAY!!!!!!!! Its actually exactly what I want to do as an engineer so I'm thrilled beyond all measure. Butit does mean that for the next month my updates are going to be non-existent until I get a better grasp of my schedule and such. This story was hard enough and all I had to do was proof and post it because I didn't post Chap 1 until I had the other chaps written.
> 
> But here it is, the final chap int he 2nd story!

The  asset  James looked up as the entrance yielded the female asset designated Ana. Sir had many assets. James understood now why they all had to have individual names. Going by ‘Asset’ would have been downright confusing. 

His new handler was very different than his old handlers in other ways too. He expected James to learn and remember information that did not always seem directly relevant to activities he assigned to James. Sometimes James memorized so much information at once that it got tangled and James had to sit with the Asset JARVIS Jr to straighten it out before Sir noticed.

James found that if every evening there was a moment when all the information could be reviewed, at least internally, James kept track much better. James discovered this one evening when reviewing all the different interactions needed on a daily basis.

The current handler, legal name: Anthony ‘Tony’ Edward Stark, called ‘Sir’ by some of the assets(but not James), engineer and businessman by profession, relied on his assets’ experience and discretion to complete their tasks. As such, his instructions alluded to social and cultural requests that James researched diligently.  Sir Tony placed a great deal of emphasis on the physical comfort and emotional condition of his assets and James discovered that their loyalty surpassed that bought from fear in his previous handlers.

The highest Asset under Tony appeared to be Edwin Jarvis, job title: butler, husband to Ana Jarvis. Edwin Jarvis performed the tasks necessary for the function of not only the family unit attached to Tony, but also of the other assets. James had encountered Edwin Jarvis spending hours discussing nuances with the other assets, and even James. This asset seemed to have endless patience and understanding when explaining inconsistencies encountered by the various assets. James appreciated the efficiency of this asset and easily partnered with him.

Ana Jarvis, Wife of Edwin Jarvis, job title: cook, sat in the next highest seat of power among the assets(probable). James had even seen Edwin Jarvis defer to his wife’s instructions, likely due to some greater experience by the woman. Ana, as an asset, confused James. She neither obeyed their handler, nor did she countermand him. She also was determined James ingest far more food and sleep far longer than James could ever remember doing in a 24 hour cycle. She was constantly placing two options in front of James and asking him to chose one, without giving criteria for the choice. Or placing many options and requesting James attempt any possible and to report on reaction. It was nerve wracking until DUM-E had explained that all answers were correct, it was a psychological evaluation and mapping exercise designed to allow Ana, or another human, to catalog unique information in assets such as themselves. Apparently she’d done something similar for DUM-E. When James tested the theory of answering ‘both’ and then ‘neither’ with no punishment, or even change in Ana’s behavior of any kind, James agreed with the more experienced asset. This made Ana the first interaction James could remember where the right answer was not a concern. 

The only asset restricted to the lab was DUM-E, job title: lab puppy. James created that title when asking the others had provided no real answer. DUM-E made the most sense to James, once James learned the various communication hurdles associated with interacting with an asset whose primary language is composed of sounds most assets, including James, could not articulate. And whose body language utilized a body completely dissimilar from not only the bodies James was used to interpreting, but also the bodies DUM-E had observed to learn body language of his own. Once James understood the puppy, DUM-E was a veritable fountain of information and explanations about the behavior of those around them, having already been integrated into their handler’s environment for 5 years.

The fourth asset James interacted with on a regular basis was JARVIS Jr. This asset was very young, barely a few months old, but had access to a broad database of information under their handler. James utilized this to verify and sometimes clarify impressions and information from their handler. JJ, as Sir and both Jarvis assets referred to him, clearly was still learning how to be an asset. James and JARVIS Jr spent hours discussing points of confusion. Between James's experience and JARVIS Jr’s information database, they delved into long sessions of security and exploration of their roles in Sir’s life. James decided this was very helpful for both of them.

In addition to those James interacted with, there were those who were simply observed and had an impact on  Sir Tony’s life. The first was the handler’s mother. Maria Collins Stark nee Carbonell, title:Mother, aged 60. This individual had enormous control over Tony’s emotional state and a very observant type of poise, regardless of her apparent obliviousness. James wondered how long it would be before the woman noticed James coming and leaving the place she called her home. Her skills in observing small details, specifically in her environment, was matched by her business acumen. She spearheaded Tony’s philanthropic outreaches through several foundations. In addition to this, she kept abreast the changes and activity at Stark Industries, commenting on the overall feel when the office atmosphere was under external pressure. James was both impressed at her metaphorical reach and dismayed at her widespread activities. Sir’s emotional health depended a great deal on his mother’s continued health and happiness. James found having multiple protection targets to be complicated.

Then there was David Cox, Stark driver, an ally in protecting the family. David Cox was a United States Army Veteran aged 49, sent home from the front lines for a leg injury that ended his military career as a grunt. JARVIS Jr had looked at David Cox’s records. The man had been recovering in a medical tent when Howard Stark visited that base as a weapon’s manufacturer. Somehow, they had met and Howard Stark offered David Cox a job as a driver when the soldier returned to the US. The man lived in a decent apartment a block from Stark Manor and drove Maria practically everywhere. Drove Tony too when Tony didn’t insist on driving himself. Although the man was physical compromised, James observed a degree of protective behavior over the remaining Stark members that labeled David Cox an ally.

The last repeated individual that took up time in James’s mental calculation was Obadiah Stane. As COO of Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane hovered around Tony more than James was comfortable. James had already noted numerous occasions of information theft, psychological manipulation and clandestine agreements on the part of Obadiah Stane to the detriment of Tony. This placed Obadiah Stane firmly in the enemy category. Normally, James would also label the man a target, but Tony seemed to have other plans for the man, therefore, until the order to begin the hunt was given, Obadiah Stane remained “enemy”. This didn’t stop James from calculating the optimal scope location and angle whenever Obadiah Stane smiled or touched Tony.

Although James did regularly journey out of the lab, mostly to keep close to his handler, the asset remained in the shadows and for several weeks these five were the sum total of his interactions and the additional 3 were the only other individuals of concern. Tony attempted to coax James into other interactions, but outside duties to the handler, James was reveling in the utter lack of pressures and expectations on him. He couldn’t remember when the pressure from his handlers boiled down to a single individual and a very self-sufficient one at that. 

James thought this was paradise.

* * *

Mission Record Report Journal

Active Day: 422

Handler Day: 419

Mission Day: 46

Asset Ana indicated that a mission journal will assist in asset growth. Ana is a valuable asset and second to Edwin Jarvis. Ana’s instructions are to be followed.

Activities: Handler attended two meetings without James and then 6.3 hours of laboratory work attended. Edwin Jarvis required assistance in moving furniture. Ana required emotional assistance due to duress from arachnoid appearance. DUM-E and JARVIS Jr required interaction.

Status: Handler and all assets completed the day with minimal difficulty.

James Status: Nutrition and rest levels remain high.

Likes*: Ceramic knives

Dislikes*: Vague instructions   
*Included on request of Ana

New Information: Handler becomes distressed when James uses appellation ‘Sir’. ‘Handler’ results in more distress. Edwin Jarvis explained that the Handler allows it from JARVIS Jr due to humor. This explanation must be further explored. Asset Ana suggested ‘Tony’ as an appropriate title for the handler as ‘Master Tony’ may elicit the same distress for “moral” reasons. Confusion remains.

Future Information Search: JARVIS Jr has many titles, more than others. This could create confusion.

Future Information Search: Emphasis has been placed on whether James desires an activity. Some of these do not have an apparent security or mission aspect. For what reason would James have a desire?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap folks!
> 
> David Cox is in fact a Marvel Character from Vietnam era who was injured in the war. He appeared in Captain America stuff.
> 
> I know Maria is supposed to be closer in age to Howard, but I don't think he'd marry quickly and I wanted her to be younger for Tony's lifetime. Besides, I still had her give birth at age 39, which was pretty old for a successful birth in the early 70s

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this glimspe into James's mind! And kudos to any geeks out there who get the Chapter naming joke.
> 
> This concludes James's initial settling in. Up Next: Meet the family!
> 
> James will meet the family (yes I mean the commandoes) and Tony will deal with the frustration shaped like a Board. Don't forget to subscribe to the series for that!


End file.
